Eat With The Seasons To Heal Your Body (And The Planet)

Nature knows how to balance itself. And since we ARE nature, our bodies too, know how to balance themselves. But the more we get disconnected from our wild selves, the harder it is for the body to do its job. 

Ayurveda gives us a unique chance to restore this connection to nature as it bases all of its wisdom on the natural cycles of nature.

If we look at nature, we can see how the basic principle of Ayurveda Like Increases Like, Opposites Balance rings true. In each season, nature is producing vegetables, plants, nuts & seeds and fruit as antidotes for what’s happening in the climate.

When it’s hot outside in summer, nature makes sure we have plenty of cooling fruits and vegetables to make sure we don’t overheat (think watermelon and cucumbers). Likewise produce will be nourishing and rich as autumn arrives (pumpkins, nuts and seeds), to create a layer of insulation for the cold winter months.

When we eat with the seasons, we prevent seasonal allergies, balance our weight naturally and make sure the body gets a chance to thrive in each season.

This might at first take a bit of mental effort as the body is not used to flow with the seasons anymore. But after we’ve been eating seasonally for a while, we restore our innate ability to live in tune with nature and our bodies start to ask for the right foods in the right season. Once this happens, we rewilded ourselves. 

But here’s the cool thing: when we eat with what’s naturally in season in our local climate, we prevent foods from being transported all the way from the other side of the planet or produced in green houses with precious electricity instead of free sunlight.

So when we let nature balance our bodies, we will simultaneously balance the climate. All is connected!

Here’s a simple guide of eating with the seasons:

Spring

• the natural cleansing season of the year with a naturally austere diet
• enjoy bitter, astringent and pungent tasting foods
• eat more leafy greens, bitter vegetables, astringent legumes, dried fruit and add pungent spices to your meals
• avoid cold, sour, salty and sweet foods like dairy, heavy grains and sugar, nuts & seeds, oily foods, ice cream

Summer

• this season in which carbohydrates are available as well as many cooling fruits and vegetables
• enjoy bitter, astringent and sweet tasting foods
• eat more vegetables like zucchinis and broccoli and all other available local vegetables, sweet fruits, organic dairy like ghee and milk and some seasonal grains like rice
• avoid overly oily or spicy foods, sour tasting foods like cream and vinegar and salty foods

Autumn & Winter

• the building season of the year with many rich and potent plants & produce
• enjoy sour, salty and sweet tasting foods
• eat more moist, protein rich and oily foods such as root vegetables & potatoes, grains like wheat, rice and oats, cooked fruits, nuts and seeds and some organic cheese & eggs and add some warming spices to your meals (beans only ok with warming spices)
• avoid cold, bitter, astringent and dry foods like crackers, salads and ice cold drinks, raw vegetables and fruit

 

Now I’d love to hear from you: what are you going to change in your diet to balance your body & save the planet? Let me know in the comments!